I Need You So Much Closer
by VelvetRainDrop
Summary: At a Halloween dance, Bella's night is turned around when she meets a myserious boy wearing a black hoodie. He hides his face from her, but Bella is determined to find out what's wrong with him. When she finds out, will she run away? AU ONESHOT BEASTLY


**A/N: This is an OOC AU One shot that was inspired by the book Beastly, which is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Please review and tell me what you think!**

**I Need You So Much Closer**

The heat was unbearable. I had been dancing nonstop for two hours straight. Every time I tried to get away to get some air, Jacob would pull me back to dance. I could feel my hair sticking to my head. I could imagine my heavy make-up dripping down my face from sweat. My feet hurt too, the black nine inch heels I was wearing were giving me cramp in my toes.

Jacob held me closer and his body heat was radiating off him. He was a very good looking guy; he had come to the Halloween dance dressed as a Gladiator and he had the six pack to go with it. I felt so lucky to have come to this dance with him, all the girls at school were unbelievably jealous because he was the guy every girl dreamed of. He had it all, the looks, the popularity and the money. But I also barely knew him. We hadn't done much talking since we got here, just constant dancing.

I was dying for some water before I passed out completely, that would be way too embarrassing. I stood on my tippy toes and reached to Jacob's ear.

"Just getting some water, be right back!" I shouted, I had to because the music was unbelievably loud.

"Ok babe, could you get some for me too?"

"Sure, "

I peeled myself away from him and tried to get through the dancing crowd. There were so many great costumes here, all the girls looked amazing. I was scared I looked a mess, so before I headed over to the bar I ran into the girl's bathroom.

I was joined by my two best friends, Alice and Rosalie who were dressed as an army girl and a sexy nun.

I looked into the mirror and thankfully my make-up was still intact. I ran my fingers threw my long pony tail, it felt damp. The plastic ears on top of my head were kind of digging into my scalp; I couldn't wait to yank them out.

"No, don't do that! It would totally mess up your hair!" Rosalie said instantly grabbing my arm before I could do it.

"But it's annoying me," I groaned.

"Bella, these ears complete your costume. If you take them out no one will even know what you're supposed to be." She said as she tried to loosen them for me. Thankfully the loosening helped a lot and my head no longer felt like it was on fire.

"Won't the whiskers and polka dot dress be enough?"

Rosalie shook her head.

"Ok Minnie Mouse, spill! How's the date going so far?" Alice said as she jumped up onto the counter and applied more lip gloss.

"Really well actually, all we've done is dance and we haven't talked much but I'm enjoying myself." I said smiling brightly.

"Yay, so do you think you're going to make out with him?" She asked giddily.

"I have no idea, but of course I won't say no." I chuckled.

The thought of kissing Jacob made butterflies flutter in my stomach. I had been crushing on him for so long and I had been dreaming of kissing him in the middle of the dance floor. The fact that I was so close made me want to jump up and down like a little girl.

"Cool, but don't do anything else with him. Make him earn it!" Rosalie said reassuringly.

I hadn't been thinking about having sex with him. That would be way too much. Just to kiss him was enough for me.

" I'm not going to jump into bed with him, I'm not Alice!" I teased nudging her playfully.

"I resent that, Jasper and I have been taking it slow since that night in his car, thank you very much!" Alice said as she stuck her tongue out at me.

"Whatever you say girl, but tonight you're a nun so behave yourself!" Rosalie said jokingly.

Alice rolled her eyes and continued putting on her lip gloss.

"Well I better head back; I'm going to grab some water for Jacob and me."

I walked out of the bathroom back into the warm atmosphere. Thankfully the bar wasn't packed so I quickly got the bottles of water and held one to my chest, it felt wonderful on my skin. Then I tried to look for Jacob.

I searched for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe he had gone off somewhere because I had taken so long? Even in my nine inch heels, I wasn't tall enough to see past the dancing heads. I stood up on a speaker that vibrated under my feet. He was nowhere on the dance floor so I looked over at the stage.

My stomach dropped when I found him. He was standing in the far corner making out with Leah Clearwater. I couldn't believe it, I had been gone for less than ten minutes and he had already found someone else to play tonsil tennis with. I felt like crying, but I held myself together and jumped down. Rosalie and Alice were at my side instantly.

"Bella, I'm so sorry but I have something terrible I need to tell you." Alice said sadly.

"It's alright, I already know..." I said trying to stop the shaking in my voice.

"He's a fucking jerk Bella, and you deserve so much better. He probably knew you weren't a slut, that's why he's kissing Leah Clearwater, because everybody knows _she's_ a slut!" Alice said trying to make me feel better.

"I'm so sorry," Rosalie said as she rubbed my shoulder.

"Its fine, I should have known something like this would happen anyway." I said as I pulled away from them.

"Hey, you're not leaving are you? Don't go just because of him." Rosalie said.

"I'm not leaving; I'm just going to get some air."

"We'll come with you," They said in unison.

"No it's ok, really. Go and have fun, I'll be alright on my own." And then I walked off before they said anything else.

I wanted the ground to swallow me up, how did such an amazing night turn out crappy within a few minutes?

As I walked up the red carpeted stairs centred in the middle of the room, I turned round and I could still see Jacob and Leah in the distance, still going at it. I quickly turned around not wanting to see it any longer and ran for the outside doors.

The cool air on my skin felt like heaven as soon as I stepped outside. I felt content and miserable at the same time. I really felt like going home, what was the point in being here anymore? People would look at me and laugh, because now I was the girl that got dumped.

I opened my bottle of water and downed it in one, I was parched. I sat myself down on a small wall and just stared into space.

But then something caught my eye near one of the windows of the school. Someone was stood there looking in, I could hardly seem them because they were dressed in a black hoodie and it was really dark outside.

"If you're going in there I'd take that hoodie off, it's like a sauna." I said.

I must have alarmed this person because they jumped at the sound of my voice. They didn't turn around though; they kept their head bent down.

"Um I'm not going in," They said, it sounded like a guy.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked curiously.

"Um no, I'm just looking." He said shyly.

"Well you aren't missing much, it's pretty boring." Of course I was only saying this because of my ordeal, before I found out about that jerk Jacob, I was having a blast.

The guy didn't saying anything else; in fact he started walking away.

"Are you hiding from someone?" I asked.

I had alerted him again and he turned to his side.

"Uh, something like that,"

"Who?" I knew I was being really nosy, but I couldn't help my curiosity.

He didn't say anything, so I got up off the wall and slowly walked towards him. He seemed to be shying away even more as I approached him. I wondered what was wrong with him.

"Who are you hiding from?" I asked again.

A few seconds went by but then he finally replied.

"Everyone..." He said in a voice that sounded so pained.

I could tell that he was upset about something, but I was usually good at helping people out in any type of situation.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm a good listener," I said trying not to alarm him again.

"I can't..." He whispered. Maybe I should have let him be, but I wanted to know why this boy sounded so pained and broken. I wanted to help him but I didn't know why, he could be a psycho for all I knew. But somehow I knew that he was just a normal guy.

"Why can't you look at me?" I asked when I noticed he hadn't actually looked me in the eyes yet.

"It would be best that I don't,"

I tried to get him to face me by standing where is head turned, but he just kept turning away.

"Ok I get it, I'll leave you alone now," I gave up trying to help this person, I didn't want to waste my time on yet another guy who just wanted to piss me off.

I turned and walked away back to the wall. But as I went to sit down, I heard his voice behind me.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to be rude." He sounded sincere.

"It's ok, I didn't mean to pry." I said with my back turned to him. Then I contradicted myself by asking more questions. "So why were you just looking in?"

"I haven't been out in awhile; I just wanted to know what it would be like." He said as he walked back over to the window. "It looks like it's a lot of fun in there."

I scoffed and sat back down onto the wall.

"What?" He asked.

"Its loads of fun alright, until you get blown off by a guy after you only left his side for ten minutes." I said laughing to myself sadistically.

To my surprise he started to walk over to me and sat opposite me on the wall facing. His face was still well hidden under his hoodie, he had on black sneakers and faded jeans. I was dying to know what he looked like.

"Is that what happened to you?" He asked softly.

"Yeah, but it's no big deal, I'll get over it eventually." I said more to myself. Even though I felt like screaming right now, I knew I had to hold my head up high because my pride depended on it.

"Some guys are just jerks. I know this because I used to be a jerk myself." He said and that made me curious all the more.

"Really? How so?"

"I used to treat people like crap all the time, like they were beneath me. I'd used girls, just like your date did, and blow them off when I was done with them. But... I was punished for my behaviour, and now I'm living with the consequences." He said and he shifted uncomfortably, he bent his head down and I couldn't tell if he was crying or not.

"Are you alright?" I whispered, I wanted to go over and comfort him but I was scared he would turn away again.

"Yeah, I'm fine," He said quietly.

There was a bit of an awkward silence because neither of us knew what to say. Then I decided to break the ice a little more.

"I'm Bella by the way,"

"I know," I was surprised by his response.

"You do? How?"

"Because you're Bella Swan, one of the most popular girls in Forks High School."

Wow, I didn't realise how popular I was. I guess I was one of the cool kids but I was never conceited or pretentious. I always gave someone a chance if they wanted to get to know me, I even had a couple of friends that were considered dorks. I didn't believe that looks were everything, unlike Jessica Stanley, who was one of the biggest bitches in the school.

"Do you go to school? I don't know if I've ever seen you before." Maybe I had, but I couldn't tell because his face was so well hidden.

"I did, I used to go here at Forks actually, but I left." He said.

"Did I know you?" I asked hoping to get a little more out of him. I was dying to know who this mysterious person was.

But he didn't respond, he probably knew I was on the path to finding out who he was. But why didn't he want me to know?

"What's your name?"

"It's..."

I waited for him to answer but he suddenly stopped.

"Please tell me, I won't tell anyone you're here if you don't want me to, I promise." I said as I got up off the wall and bent down in front of him. He turned his head away. I knew I was playing against a brick wall so I officially gave up and got up to walk away.

"Edward..." I heard him say.

"What?" I asked as I whirled back round.

"My name is Edward,"

I didn't expect him to tell me, but I was glad he did. But his name seemed familiar for some reason; I tried to think hard if I had known that name before. And then it came to me.

"Are... are you Edward Cullen?" I asked slowly. I saw him flinch when I said it, then I knew my realisation was right. "You are aren't you?"

He nodded his head slightly, still looking at the ground with his hood up.

Edward Cullen, he was the guy every girl in school wanted to be with, and the guy the boys all wanted to be. I would be lying if I said I didn't find him attractive, he was one of those people where he could walk into a room and light it up. I remember him being so beautiful, that it took your breath away when you looked at him. His hair was brown with a slight bronze twinge, and he had sparkling green eyes. He had the money too, his father Carlise was a doctor, and his mother Esme was a lawyer. He had everything, well almost everything. He was also a total grade A asshole.

I remember how he used to belittle people who weren't as fortunate, or good looking enough for him. I remember when he called a girl a fat whore, when she asked him if he would like to go out with her.

But Edward and I never really knew each other, we had the same mutual friends but I never liked hanging out with him, because of the things he did and because he was always attached to Jessica Stanely. I could safely say that he was worse than Jacob.

Then one day he left. The last time he was seen was at the junior prom where he publicly embarrassed Angela, a girl who was a social outcast and who he asked out on a date as a joke. After that night, for some reason, he was never seen again.

And now here he was, sat in front of me in a black hoodie covering his face, shying away from me with no confidence left at all. What had happened to him?

"You haven't been seen in a year," I finally said.

"I know," he said as he stood up with his back to me.

"What happened to make you leave?" I wondered if he would tell me.

"I wish I could tell you but I can't, I shouldn't have even come here. It's too dangerous." He bowed his head and stared at the ground.

"Look, you probably can't take me seriously right now because I'm dressed as Minnie Mouse..." I heard a chuckle come from him, "But whatever is wrong with you, I promise you can trust me. I know we barely know each other, but if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here to listen. I remember you, and honestly, I didn't like you very much," I heard him snicker again, "But I do believe that people can change."

I waited for him to respond but he still wouldn't turn around.

"So are we ever gonna like, really meet?"

A few seconds went by, and to my surprise he lifted his hands to his hood and pulled it down. Then slowly but surely he turned around.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't shocked. The boy in front of me looked a far cry from the person he was. His shiny bronze hair was gone and his green eyes were sunken in. Some of the skin on his face was marred and there were deep scars near his eyes and mouth. I also noticed weird markings where his eye brows used to be and spiky tattoos on his neck. There was an odd silver swirly line coming from his forehead to his nose. I didn't know if this was a costume or his actual face, I was too scared to ask.

No words came to me. I was both shocked and saddened by this poor boys appearance. Tears started to form in my eyes.

"Now you know why I want to hide, and why I left," He said as his voice trembled. I could tell he was holding back tears.

My heart went out to him. He was a jerk in the past, but nobody deserved this. I slowly approached him and hesitantly I raised my hand and stroked his cheek. He was surprised by my gesture.

"Pretty gruesome huh?" He said nervously.

I swallowed a lump in my throat.

"I've seen worse..."

He leaned in to my hand and closed his eyes. My heart was beating tremendously.

Suddenly my phone vibrated that made us both jump. Rosalie was calling me.

"Hello?"

"Where the hell are you? You better not have gone home." She said sounding mad and excited at the same time.

"I'm just outside, I'll be in soon."

"You won't believe what just happened, Leah Clearwater was totally wasted and she just threw up all over Jacob, it was fucking hilarious. You better come in quickly because you're missing it, Jacob is screaming!" She said as she burst out into laughter.

"Really? No way! I'll see you in a minute." I hung up.

I guess there was such a thing as Karma.

I looked at Edward, he had his hood back up but he wasn't hiding his face.

"The guy that blew me off, Jacob Black, you know him right?" I asked him and he nodded, "Well he just got his ass completely owned. I guess what goes around comes around." He seemed unnerved by what I said.

"So I guess you're going back in, it was nice talking to you," He said as he began to walk off.

"Hey wait," He stopped and turned around. "Why don't you come in with me?"

He looked at me like I was an alien, I knew it was a ridiculous thing to ask but I couldn't stand the fact that this poor boy was missing out on a good night just because of what he looked like.

"I don't think that's a good idea," He said bowing his head again.

"Yes it is, like you said you haven't been out in a while. Please come in with me. No one will recognise you." I said as I walked up to him and looked him deep in the eyes. There was so much sadness behind them, that I could tell and I just wanted to make him a little happier.

After what felt like an hour of convincing, my stomach flipped when he finally said yes.

"Ok I will, but I shouldn't stay long."

I linked his arm and led towards the doors. I braced myself for the heat.

"Bella?"

"Yes Edward?"

"Thanks, you know..." He said blushing a little.

"I know," I smiled reassuringly.

"You're a kind person,"

I was shocked by his words, Edward Cullen never said anything nice about anyone and here he was, complimenting me. He had definitely changed a lot.

"You ready?"

"Yes,"

Then we opened the doors.

I could hear a song I liked starting to play, Transatlanticism by Death Cab For Cutie, as we reached the top of the stairs centred right in the middle of the room. We stood side by side; I could see him trembling beside me. I took hold of his hand, he looked at me and I smiled at him.

People on the dance floor slowly turned their heads in our direction. I ignored them and slowly began walking down the steps, holding Edward's hand all the way. I saw Jacob in the distance, he watched as I walked hand in hand with a mysterious boy down to the dance floor. I wasn't doing this to make him jealous, but it felt good to know that he felt replaced.

We walked right in the middle of the dance floor. People were dancing in couples and holding each other romantically.

"Will you dance with me?" I asked him.

"Yes," Butterflies formed in my stomach when he accepted.

I put my arms around his neck and he put his around my waist and brought me closer to him.

"Is this ok?" He asked shyly.

"Of course."

We swayed slowly to the amazing music. While I had been enjoying myself dancing with Jacob, dancing with Edward felt a whole lot better. I felt very content. I leaned my head on his chest and felt his heart beating fast. He must have been nervous, he hadn't been out like this in such a long time and I knew the reason. He felt incredibly self conscious because of his appearance. I couldn't imagine what the past year had been like for him.

But I didn't care about what he looked like, the person I just met outside was different to the man he used to be. I felt like I wanted to protect him.

I lifted my head and looked at the dancing couples surrounding us. They were all making out. I noticed Edward staring at them. I figured it had been a long time since he was close to someone like that, or even someone just simply dancing with him like me.

My heart nearly burst through my chest when I thought about what I wanted to do. It would be sudden but right then in that moment, with his arms around me, dancing to an amazing song; it felt right to do it.

I took a deep breath and stood on my tippy toes. He looked at me confused. I leaned his head in and before I knew it, I was kissing him.

We could feel our hearts beating against each other as I pressed myself closer to him. His soft lips pressed against mine, it was the sweetest kiss I ever had. His body had stopped trembling and his heart beat slowed.

A few minutes later, we finally pulled away from each other. I still had my eyes closed as I dropped down from my tippy toes.

I opened them and then I wanted to faint. If I had been shocked before it was nothing compared to what I was feeling right then. To my astonishment, the man standing before me no longer looked disfigured. His shiny bronze hair was back, the sparkle in his eyes was back, and the scars, tattoos and marred skin were gone. He looked breath taking once again.

I had no idea how it was possible. I wondered if I was dreaming and that none of this was real. But I pinched myself and I was still there, it was real alright.

"What the... what just happened?" I stuttered.

Edward looked confused and worried.

"What?"

"Your face... its back..." I said as covered my mouth with my hand.

Edward, looking alarmed, flung his hand up to his face. He traced his hand over every part of it. Then his face lit up.

"Am I... am I normal again?" He said as his eyes filled with tears of happiness.

He was already normal, but I knew what he meant. I nodded my head.

"The spell is broken," He said looking deep in thought.

"Spell?" I asked confused, I had no idea what was happening.

"It doesn't matter..." He shrugged.

"But Edward..."

"Shhh," He held his finger to his lip. "Don't think right now, I'll explain later. Just dance with me." He said as he put my hand back round his neck and pulled me close to him.

I still felt so confused and weary, but also intrigued at the same time. This man was simply fascinating.

"Bella?"

"Yes Edward?"

"Thank you," A tear slipped down his cheek.

Then he leaned in and I felt his lips on mine once again.

I had no idea what just happened to him, nor do I know how he came to look how he did. I had only known him for half an hour but in that small amount of time I had met a guy I wanted to know more about. But I knew there was time for questions later.

All I wanted to do right then was to hold him closer.

**A/N: And there you have it, hope you enjoyed. By the way, in this story the spell needed to be broken by a just a simple kiss.**


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